Can It Be Love?
by fiery passion
Summary: James and Lily are just friends, but what happens when James wants their friendship to be more than platonic?
1. The Proposition

Lily pulled off the lavender scented covers and dragged herself out of bed then groaned. It was Valentine's Day, the very day she dreaded the most for one particular reason. James Potter. She had this awful premonition that he was going to ask her out again, like was his habit. Lily shook her head, her long reddish curls bobbing loosely. _No_, she reminded herself, _James had changed over the summer and hadn't once asked her out this year_. And she had to admit, she hadn't seen him hexing anyone this year, except Snape of course. But she could almost understand why he took a particular interest in him for most of the marauders' pranks. Almost. In fact, Lily had developed a tiny crush for James even though she desperately tried to convince herself otherwise.

She looked around the room, noticing that she was the only one awake. She took this opportunity to promptly grab some clothes from her trunk and head to the girls bathroom without having to wait. She had decided against dressing up for Valentine's Day, and being a weekend, Lily was not required to wear her school robes, so she simply put on a pair of tight fitting jeans and a t-shirt. She quietly stuffed her night clothes back into her trunk and walked over to the tall mirror in the corner of the dormitory. She glanced at her wrinkled clothes and muttered a simple spell to make them appear ironed. Her close fitting clothes accentuated her womanly curves very nicely. She quickly brushed her hair then took out her flattening iron and gently began straightening her hair. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she walked towards the door that led down to the common room when a groggy voice stopped her.

"Wow, Lily, you're up early this morning." She turned around and grinned at her best friend, Melissa.

Melissa was a tall, very attractive girl, with long brown hair and cinnamon colored eyes. Lily sometimes compared her to Sirius, for she could easily be his female counterpart.

"What can I say," Lily said, "I wanted the shower first today."

Melissa smiled knowingly and tiredly flopped out of her own bed. "Lily!" Once again, Lily turned to face her best friend. "What is it now?" she pretended to pout, crossing her arms across her chest. Melissa rolled her eyes and said, "You can't go down there without any makeup on! It's Valentines' Day!"

"Might I remind you that I don't wear makeup?"

Melissa giggled and said, "Well then, I guess we'll have to experiment around, now won't we!"

After several minutes of Melissa applying and taking off different colors of eye shadow, she gasped and said, "That's it! I found you the perfect color!" She put on a light shade of green that complimented Lily's eyes perfectly. A couple more minutes passed by as Melissa put blush and mascara on her. When she was finally done she studied her work and said, "You look great, Lily!" She winked at her and said, "Go on down to breakfast without me. I'm going to be a while."

Lily once again surveyed herself in the mirror and liked what she saw, "Thanks so much, Melissa! You're the best!"

"No problem, honey."

As she slowly made her way down the staircase, she could hear popping noises and laughter coming from the common room. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were already downstairs fooling around per their usual. Well, actually it was only Sirius being rowdy. Remus was quietly sitting in an armchair reading a book, but constantly looking up at Sirius who was performing tricks with his wand. All the while, Peter was mesmerized by Sirius' obnoxious attempts to show off. When he saw Lily watching him from the stairs, Sirius stopped and stood up straight, and took a bow. She clapped reluctantly and rolled her eyes. Sirius regained his composure and walked over to the red headed girl.

Sirius was dressed in a muggle clothes as well. He wore a plain white shirt and black pants that fit loosely about his legs. Remus on the other hand, was dressed up in a much more elegant style; a white shirt dress shirt with the top buttons undone and khaki slacks completed his attire, giving him a sense of dignity which he did not usually possess. Remus smiled at Lily, and she returned the gesture. She glanced at Sirius who gave her a toothy grin and made an obnoxious sweep of his hand, taking her own hand in his. He bowed, and without coming out of the bow, looked up at her. Lily dramatically rolled her eyes. Nonetheless, she played along and curtsied back, but pulled her hand out of Sirius's grip.

"Might you be interested in allowing me to escort you to breakfast, milady," Sirius asked offering her his arm.

Lily replied negatively, "No thanks, Sirius. I think I'll go by myself."

Sirius pretended to look hurt as she turned towards the portrait. She suddenly realized that James wasn't with them, but thought it would be a bad idea if she of all people asked where he was, so she continued on her way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

As Lily walked down the corridor, one of her friends caught up with her, grabbing her shoulder for support. It was fairly obvious that she had been running to catch up with Lily and so she needed to catch her breath.

"Hey, Dana. Is something wrong?" Lily asked of the blonde girl.

Dana was one of her other best friends, for they had known each other since first year.

_Flashback /_

_A very nervous Lily stepped onto the train, and away from her parents for the first time. She had always been excited about going to boarding school, but now that the time had come, she was scared about leaving. She went in search for a compartment to sit in, desperately hoping that one would be empty. She wasn't quite ready to make friends yet. But when she couldn't find an empty one, she resorted to going into one that only had one other girl in it._

_"Um - hi, do you mind if I sit in here?" Lily asked tentatively._

_"Of course not! By the way, my name is Dana Horowitz," the young blonde replied smiling._

_"I'm Lily Evans," she smiled shyly._

_"It's nice to meet you, Lily! You're a muggle born aren't you?"_

_"A - a what?" Lily stammered, confused._

_"I thought so. It's alright. I'll help you out and show you around if you like," Dana said kindly._

_"Oh, ok. Thank you very much!" the red head replied, glad that someone would be her friend._

_End Flashback \\_

Ever since that first day on the train when they had become fast friends and were both sorted into Gryffindor, Dana had been one of her best friends.

Dana was a relatively short girl with shoulder length blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her skin was paler than Lily's, but it suited her well. As she studied her friends face with a concerned look in her eye, she was relieved when Dana shook her head.

"No, nothing is wrong. I just wondered where you were. You got up awfully early and left before the rest of us woke up. We were all wondering if anything had happened."

"Oh, no I'm just fine. I just wanted to get here earlier than usual for a change. But thanks for worrying about me." Lily smiled and the two walked together to breakfast.

Lily was distracted as she talking to Dana as they rounded the corner and she collided with none other than James Potter, knocking them both to the ground. She quickly said that she was sorry and that she hadn't seen him, but he waved it away with his hand. Lily stood up and helped him get to his feet. He brushed off his clothes while she did the same.

She turned to head into the Great Hall when James asked politely, "Could I talk with you, Lily?"

With a little hesitation, she replied, "alright," nodding to Dana to let her know she could go on without her. Lily thought knew what was coming. James was here to ask her out like he did last year in hi usual cocky manner. On the other hand, he appeared more grown up, more gentlemanly per se. Of course, James would never be as sweet as Remus, but she had to admit, he was pretty cute, and he had gone for half the year without flirting with her or asking her out.

"Lily, I've been thinking about you and me - " _oh here we go_, she thought miserably, "and frankly, you really don't like me do you?" James looked downcast as he waited for her to reply. Lily bit her lower lip and looked at him. She hadn't expected him to ask _this_. But his expression gave it all away; James Potter was being perfectly serious.

"Er, honestly, James, no I didn't," she said, choosing her words carefully. James nodded sadly. "But - " James looked up when she said this with hope in his eye, "you've changed. You finally managed to deflate that big ego of yours," she continued. She couldn't help but smile faintly. James was gazing at her intently, his beautiful hazel eyes boring into her. She looked up and their eyes locked. _Damn, I could easily get lost in those beautiful eyes_. She took that moment to take in his entire figure. He, like Remus, was wearing a neat, white button down shirt, but had black pants instead of khaki. _He _is_ very attractive_, she thought, smiling inwardly. Even his hair had been combed and wasn't the mess it usually was.

"Well, I'm glad you think so highly of me now," he beamed. "And here I thought that Lily Evans would always hate me," James grinned. _Only you could ruin the moment, James_, she thought bitterly. But she knew perfectly well that she didn't mean a word of it. She really liked him, no matter how much she tried to conceal it from herself.

"Lily," he said suddenly, running his hand through his jet black hair. _Argh there he goes again with that habit_, she thought to herself.

But Lily interrupted him, "why do you _do_ that?" she asked irritably.

"Huh? Do what?"

"That - that thing, with your hair!"

"Oh, it's just a nervous habit I suppose," he grinned apparently pleased by the fact that she noticed.

Lily looked at him expectantly before saying, "You were about to say something..." she trailed off as she looked up at him. James stood about a foot taller than her and she always strained to look at his face. She wondered what it would be like to look down on people like that.

"Would you, er, like to, um, go to Hogsmeade with me this afternoon?" James managed to blurt out, blushing furiously. Oh my gosh, he's blushing. James Potter doesn't blush, especially around me! Lily was momentarily stunned, but after a moments thought she replied, "oh, um, alright." Just in the way he asked, Lily could tell that James wasn't James anymore. He beamed, grinning like there was no tomorrow and she smiled back awkwardly.

"You don't know how long I've waited for that answer from you, Lily."

From the looks of it, James was about to explode with happiness. One could almost see the light exerted from his face as though someone were shining a spotlight on him. His eyes were dancing with joy. Lily had never seen him in a state like this before. _I caused him so much excitement just from one simple answer,_ she thought, thoroughly amazed. She herself was very excited. She had never gotten to know this other side of James, and now she finally had the opportunity.

"Ah, but first, for some breakfast." He offered her his arm and together they went into the Great Hall, each retreating to their own thoughts, both unaware of the stares they received upon entering. They were too comfortable in each others company to notice anything as they walked down to the middle of the Gryffindor table. They sat down next to each other and soon struck up conversation, merrily enjoying the morning so far.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter soon followed, and upon seeing James, promptly sat down across from him. A look of surprise washed over Sirius's face when he noticed Lily laughing at something James said. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Remus, who looked as surprised as Sirius. Lily Evans and James Potter were being friendly to each other! This was not something to be taken lightly. He looked from Lily to James, and back to Lily and when he was quite sure the two were not arguing, searched James' face for an answer. When he didn't find anything, Sirius resorted to bluntly asking his best friend.

"Is there something going on that we don't know about?" gesturing to himself, Remus, and Peter.

James grinned but shook his head and said, "We aren't together if that's what you mean. But Lily Flower here has kindly accepted my offer to a date in Hogsmeade this afternoon." He gave Sirius a toothy grin, who disbelievingly looked over at Lily. She gave James a quick smile and realized that the other marauders wanted to hear it come from her own mouth.

"James isn't lying, Bla - Sirius." She was trying her hardest to call James' friends by their first names, since she and James were already on that level.

Sirius who was obviously disgruntled with this startling development, cocked his head and said to James, "Shit, Prongs. You're one lucky guy, getting the prettiest girl in the school on a date!" he winked at Lily who rolled her eyes but blushed nonetheless. Sirius began piling food onto his plate, and shoved some toast in his mouth before Remus entered the conversation.

"Why the change in heart, Lily? I thought you said James had an over sized ego and he was a arrogant prick?" James glared at him, but Remus just chuckled. Everyone turned to Lily who was becoming quite nervous at all the eyes turned to her.

"He finally managed to shrink that ego of his so that it sits properly on his neck. And I haven't seen him hexing anyone this year, so I guess I can't call him arrogant anymore. Besides, I never really hated him. I just found him annoying," she shrugged.

Sirius said, "Righ ou are, lub," spraying toast everywhere to the great displeasure of his friends.

Lily raised an eyebrow and said, "Huh?"

James kindly put the words in Sirius' mouth for him, "he said, 'right you are, love.'"

Glad to have gotten this off her chest, Lily relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the meal talking and laughing along with the other adolescent boys.


	2. Hogsmeade

"Lily – _Lily!"_

Lily awoke with a start, aware that someone was shaking her violently by the shoulders. She looked up and saw Melissa with a sort of desperation in her cinnamon colored eyes.

"Sorry. Guess I'm kind of drowsy to – to – today," Lily said, stretching her hands behind her head and stifling a yawn.

"Finally! Now go get changed! We're leaving for Hogsmeade in _10 minutes_!" Both Melissa and Dana were ready to go, and were only waiting for Lily who had fallen asleep in the common room and wasn't anywhere near ready to leave.

Lily was the only one of the three to have a date, but she knew her friends, they would probably meet up with some guys once they got into the town.

"I'll be down in just a minute," said a now very rushed Lily, as she darted up the stairs to her dormitory. She opened her trunk and sorted through her non-school uniform clothes. She pulled out a pair of tight fitting jeans and an emerald short sleeved sweater. She hurriedly threw on the choice of apparel and began applying some light make-up. Just enough to bring out the color in her eyes, although her green sweater already did a very good job of it already.

Brushing her long red hair and pulling it into a loose bun with a few strands falling next to her face, Lily grabbed her wand and stuffed it into her pocket. She surveyed her appearance in the floor length mirror and walked quickly down the steps where her friends waited.

When Dana saw Lily, she grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the portrait.

"Come _on_!"

They made their way to the entrance hall where students from all houses mingled before being allowed to proceed to Hogsmeade. Lily spotted Sirius near the wall entertaining some younger students. _Wherever Sirius is James is not too far away, _she thought searching the crowd for her date.

She found him pacing back and forth and talking Remus in a very agitated and slightly nervous voice.

"What if I screw everything up? What if I do something to offend her? Bloody hell! Who knew that taking girls out on dates was so damn nerve-wrecking!"

Lily smiled to herself. She knew that James wouldn't have wanted her to hear that so she pretended she hadn't and came up behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders and said, "Boo!"

James jumped and barely managed to suppress a shriek. He slowly turned around to see his beautiful Lily standing there, obviously quite pleased with herself for startling him half to death. He couldn't help but notice that no matter what she wore, or how she did her hair, she was just as gorgeous. She was his. Or was she? By accepting to go on a date, did that mean she would say yes if he asked her out? God he hoped so.

Lily was actually surprised to find that she had startled poor James so much and put a reassuring hand on his arm.

He gulped. Lily didn't know the affect her touch had on him.

He forced a smile and offered her his arm which she gladly took. They made their way into town and after a few moments decided to go to the Three Broomsticks first. They entered the pub where Madam Rosmerta, the owner, heartily greeted them.

"Rosmerta! How are you today?" James asked, losing his nervous air. Upon hearing the witch's response, Lily figured that he must be a regular customer.

"Why hello, James. I see you've brought a lady along this time," she winked at him and he smiled his toothy grin that made every girls heart flutter. She seated the two teenagers at a table in the back and said, "What can I get for you two today?"

Before James had a chance to answer, Lily had already spoken, "We'll have two butterbeers, please."

James rolled his eyes. He had so wanted a firewhiskey at the moment, to calm his nerves. But Lily go the best of him, and he nodded his head.

"They'll be right out, dears."

James could stand it no longer. He comically rolled his eyes as dramatic as he could and pretended to splutter, "Butterbeers? And to think I could have had a firewhiskey! But oh no! Miss Lily Flower here is opposed to drinking alcohol."

Lily playfully slapped his shoulder and said, "I'm doing you a favor. Unless you _want_ to get drunk of course."

"You know, getting drunk isn't as bad as you might think. I take it you've never had too much to drink, have you?" James looked at her inquisitively and cocked his head to one side.

"As a matter of fact I have been drunk before. Think what you may, I am not as perfect as you might have supposed." She grinned wickedly.

"What? Of course you're perfect. Getting drunk and being perfect have nothing to do with each other. Have a drink is just fun and nauseating. What is life without fun? You _are_ perfect, and I don't see how people could disagree."

Lily blushed and looked back at James who was desperately trying to hide a laugh, but failing miserably. It came out as half a grin and half a snort. She couldn't help but laugh with him. She looked into his hazel eyes and easily got lost in them, drowned in the light dancing in them. She was interrupted, however, when Madam Rosmerta came by with their butterbeers.

"Here we are, two butterbeers." She placed a drink in front of both of them and tottered away, stopping at other tables along the way.

"Drink up me hearties, yo ho," Lily murmured as she lifted the butterbeer to her lips.

"What was that?" James asked, obviously very confused at Lily's reference to muggle pirates.

"Oh, nothing. It's just a muggle thing."

James nodded and didn't question her any further. He didn't think, even if she explained it thoroughly enough, that he would understand simply due to the fact that it was muggle and James was about as opposite-muggle as a witch or wizard could get.

They continued to talk about odds and ends from quidditch to dungbombs and about how James wasn't really an arrogant prick because he was loyal to his friends and only pranked people he really hated, like Snivellus. They also touched upon the subject of Remus' monthly sickness, but James very quickly veered away from that topic. After some time James suggested that they walk outside the shops, and Lily eagerly agreed. It had been a long while since she had been in Hogsmeade and she desperately wanted to see if anything had changed.

They thanked Madam Rosmerta, walked out of the pub and headed for Zonko's Joke Shop. Lily hadn't particularly wanted to visit this store, but James had practically begged her, and she had a hard time refusing him.

As the two walked along the busy road, James became more and more agitated and restless until Lily could stand it no longer.

"James, what's wrong?" she asked looking him in the eye.

"Er – well, you see," he began, tripping over his words and fumbling with his hands. He glanced at Lily who was gazing at him with concern. He had started doubting that she would say yes if he asked her out, but when he saw that look of emotion in her eye, he decided he better chance it.

He turned to face her squarely and started over.

"Lily, we've been good friends for a while now, and I really enjoy it. More than you think. I've been mulling it over and finally figured out that you are the girl of my dreams. You're beautiful, smart, good-natured. But as much as I tell myself that being friends is just fine, somewhere deep down inside of me wants more."

He took her hand in his and gazed at her intently as if prompting a response.

"James," she said, shaking slightly but had difficulty putting a sentence together. Was James about to ask her out? Instead of looking at the anxious black haired boy in front of her, Lily took a particular interest in her shoes.

James hesitated a moment before reaching out and toying with one of her ringlets of her bright red hair. Acting on reflexes Lily recoiled ever so slightly at the touch of his warm hands on her skin. She looked away, so as to hide the blush that was rising in her cheeks. James cupped her face in his hand and brought her gaze back to his own eyes.

"Lils, would you go out with me?" He said this in as polite and caring yet serious way as possible, and Lily noticed. She didn't hesitate before responding for she already knew her answer.

"Yes, James, I would love to be your girlfriend." She smiled a true, honest to god smile as he pulled her into an embrace. She hardly noticed the huge grin plastered on his face, but she did notice when James picked her up off her feet and swung her around through the air.

They both laughed and he put her down gently. Glad to have firm ground under her feet she intertwined her fingers into James' and let him take her wherever he wanted. He knew now that he had her full trust and confidence. And now that he had it, he would do everything in his right power to keep it that way.

James told her to close her eyes as he walked down the street. Every so often he would whisper in her ear which made her tingle inside. Much to Lily's surprise, James led her into Honeydukes. She knew this simply by the fact that as he opened the door and led her inside, the smell of all the varieties of sweets and candies that were sold there filled her nose. Her eyes fluttered open and he nudged her.

"Go pick out whatever you want. It's all on me," he said, amused at the look he got from her. She had a mixture of pure happiness and utter confusion.

"No, I couldn't make you pay for that," she began put we waved it away with his hand. While she walked over to where the Fondant Frenzies, essentially fudge bars without the chocolate in them, were shelved, James strolled over to another section. When they finally met again, after picking out several different candies, they looked at each others' stash of food. Lily had chosen two Fondant Frenzies and a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. James, on the other hand, had picked out quite an assortment of sweets. From what Lily could tell, he had bought a few Fizzing Whizbees, some Droobles Best Blowing Gum, and several Canary Creams. These seemed like odd choices to Lily but she didn't say anything.

"Want to head back to the castle, James?" asked a tired Lily. She stifled a yawn and was about to turn when she heard a familiar voice shouting at her and James.

"Oi, Prongs! Where have you been, mate? We looked everywhere for you! We had a hunch you'd be here with the ever so lovely Tiger Lily though." He chuckled and shouted to Peter who came running up panting.

"Look who we found, Pete," Sirius said gleefully and he motioned to James and Lily.

Lily, who hadn't said anything yet, stepped forward and said, "Don't you guys have dates? It is Valentine's Day you know."

"Of course I have a date, I just don't – know where she is. You see she sort of went off without me and I haven't found her. Probably off with another guy anyways," he shrugged and sneaked an arm around Lily's waist. "But maybe I could share Lily here. I'm sure Jamesie-poo wouldn't mind if I just borrowed his date for awhile, would you, mate?"

"This might come as a shocker to you, Padfoot, but I would mind sparing Lils to you. There is a reason she accepted my offer and not yours," he winked at her and turned back to Sirius who was now pouting.

He stomped a foot on the ground and said in a falsely cheery voice, "Oh come now. Tiger Lily, you wouldn't mind having a double date would you?"

Lily just laughed and shook her head at a now hurt Sirius Black. He humphed in mock indignation and turned on his heel, Peter very close behind.

"I know when I'm not wanted," he said in a pretend hurt tone and headed towards a group of older girls across the street.

When Lily and James were finally alone again, she ventured to ask, "Where's Remus? I thought he'd be hanging out with Sirius and Peter."

"Oh, Remus actually has a date. Wouldn't tell me who though," he responded and shrugged. "I'll ask him about it later if we don't run across him here."

Deep in conversation, the two wandered back up to the castle arm in arm, both enjoying the other's company. When they reached the common room James stopped and turned to face Lily. The red head looked even more beautiful by the light of the fire.

"James, I had a great time today, so thank you," she said blushing profusely. He looked longingly into her eyes and was amazed at their natural beauty. The emerald green was illuminated by the firelight and had a certain gleam which they usually did not have.

She leaned forward awkwardly and kissed him on the cheek and said, "Goodnight, James."

"'Night, Lily."

Even after she had left, James stood rooted to the spot, fingering the spot on his cheek where Lily had kissed him. He couldn't quite get it through his mind that Lily had said she would be his girlfriend. _His girlfriend_. He could finally call her his own after so many years of refusal. He gingerly took the steps to his dormitory two at a time. He pushed open the door and jaw dropped at what he saw. Dana was sitting on Remus' lap snogging him in the middle of their room.

James slammed the door and the two quickly untangled themselves from each other. Dana's face was already pink and steadily growing in color as she dashed out of the room, pushing James aside.

"Since when were you two together?" James asked in an amused voice, not at all disturbed at having seen the two kissing their hearts away. He had, on many occasions snogged girls in his room only to be burst in upon, and he knew the feeling of being embarrassed beyond belief so why make Remus fell even more uncomfortable than he already was?

"Since this afternoon," came the reply that he had most expected.

James chuckled and after a few seconds said, "You two make a good couple you know."

Remus forced a smile and said weakly, "I've got to go finish some homework. I'll see you later." And with that he too ran from the room pushing James out of the way. James sighed and lay down on his bed. He looked up at the canopy hanging over the bedposts which he had bewitched to look like the night sky – just like the Great Hall.

He closed his eyes, only intending to take a short nap before heading out to the kitchens for his late night snack of apple pie. He occasionally had these fetishes and tonight was one of the those nights. He cleared his mind and replayed the happenings of the day. He loved just being with Lily, and the fact that she was _his_ and that they had a friendly conversation was astounding to him. Slowly sleep overtook him and he floated away to his dream world.


End file.
